“This is a residential area and is not the right location for such a tower, not only from a property value standpoint, but also from a safety standpoint.”Those words, taken from an email sent by Russellville resident Jeff Curry to several alderman late last week, sum up Curry’s feelings about the proposed installation of a radio communications tower near on a lot adjacent to his home.

“Just talking with my neighbors, we all feel there’s better places it can go,” he told The Courier.

There’s several things wrong with installing a tower at the proposed site near the intersection of Hilltop Drive and Amy Lyn Place, in Curry’s opinion. He believes the slope of the property in question creates a safety risk for a 160-foot tower, is concerned about the placement of such an object within a residential area, thinks a tower would take away from views of the bluff from lower parts of the city and points out the installation of the tower would detract from the value of his property.

Although Mayor Bill Eaton said he understands Curry’s concern, he also said there comes a time when aesthetics must be compromised to ensure safety — the proposed tower would help clear up dead spots in emergency communications within the city, as well as help the city work toward compliance with new communication regulations that must be complete by 2013.

“It’s not that the city is wanting to intentionally rub something in someone’s face, it’s just we really and sincerely need a tower in the vicinity where we are working to put this one, and we’re trying to be as neighborly as we can under the circumstances,” Eaton said. “And, generally speaking, the neighbors are not happy about that.

“It’s a matter of safety, and it’s a matter of what we at the present time do not have — and that’s a good coverage of the area we are trying to serve from a uniformed standpoint, which means our police department and fire department. There are too many dead spaces with the existing system we have.”

“At some point, we’re going to have a tower, and I say sooner rather than later, from a safety standpoint,” Larkin said. “I’m not saying we’re not listening to people, but sooner or later we need a tower.”

Horton said the city was considering purchasing a mono-pole tower, which he said may be less offensive visually than the currently-planned derrick-style tower.

“There’s a big difference in derrick-style versus single-pole,” he said. “Nobody wants either one of them in front of their house, but sometimes to have progress, you have to put up with a little bit of growing pains.”

Curry said he did not feel like a mono-pole tower would alleviate his concerns about the project.

He added he and other neighbors first found out the property near their homes was being considered for the tower when they read about it in The Courier.

“It mentions in the article that the neighbors had given their consent to erect the tower and this is far from the truth,” he said. “My wife and I have talked to several of our neighbors and none of them knew this land was being considered for construction of the tower let alone gave consent.”

Eaton admitted he “misstepped” when he previously said it was his understanding neighbors had given their consent to proceed with the installation of the tower at the proposed site. He said the error came from a miscommunication between himself and the police department, but was not an intentional attempt to mislead residents.

If the city decides to pursue plans to place the tower on Hilltop Drive — and Eaton said it is currently the “primary” location being considered — Eaton said it will go through the process of presenting the plan before the planning tower “just like an individual that would want some sort of exception,” allowing an opportunity for a public forum.

In the meantime, Curry said he plans to write a public letter to the mayor, signed by “as many neighbors” he can get to sign it.

Look for more information on the need for increased radio coverage for emergency personnel, as well as research the Russellville Police Department has conducted regarding the matter, in a future edition of The Courier.